BENGALURU: Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has delivered another blow to the site allottees of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL) — its engineers are demanding a surprise charge from allottees seeking plan approvals for houses they plan to build in the underdeveloped area.
They’re being asked to pay a new charge towards what BDA calls ‘drinking water, recycled water and UGD system’. This has come as a shocker to site allottees as BDA had collected hefty prices from them years ago, promising all these facilities and more. “The price we paid is inclusive of all these charges,” said an allottee, who declined to be identified.
BDA has been demanding Rs 31,000 from 30×40 site owners, which they see as an unreasonable demand to fill the authority’s empty coffers. BDA is demanding these charges only since Feb, and there was no such levy on the plans the engineers sanctioned before that. The authorities are adding 18% GST on that, rubbing salt to the wounds of allottees.
What has infuriated site allottees is that the civic authority has been inventing ideas to extract money from them, although it has failed to provide asphalted roads, drains, water and power connections, and basic connectivity to many sites. There are many site owners who can’t arrive by car because of incomplete land acquisition.
“I got my site allotted in 2016 and am nearing my retirement now. Even after eight years, we don’t have proper usable roads to reach my plot by a four-wheeler. To expect even basic water and electricity connections is probably asking for too much,” said Johny, who owns a 30×40 plot, which he can get to only by two-wheeler or on foot.
Many missed deadlines
BDA has missed quite a few deadlines to complete critical infrastructure work like roads, drains, and water supply. “UGD charges are nothing but what BBMP collects as road-cutting charges. But BDA always claimed there is no need for road-cutting in NPKL. Why this charge in that case?” he asked. Another allottee joked: “The recent rain has already caused enormous road-cutting. It has exposed tardy civil work.”
Surya Kiran, joint secretary of NPKL Open Forum, said: “It is really surprising how BDA engineers proposed the water and UGD charges, and even more perplexing how their bosses in BDA accepted this.” The authority sold sites in the layout for higher than market rates, justifying the steep price on grounds that it was providing modern infrastructure with ducts and channels in such a way there would be no need for any road-cutting. Now, officials are demanding the same charges allottees have already paid while buying the plots, he said, dubbing the new levy a daylight robbery.
Clueless on water supply
Kiran pointed out that BDA engineers were clueless when they would start supplying drinking water. They planned to supply recycled water only after houses came up at each block in the layout. “Engineers say people can use UGD only after they’ve built houses and moved in, and ditto with water supply. House construction would take a minimum of 18 months. BDA wants money upfront but can’t commit to providing water from the day we start building our houses, for which water is a critical input.”
The inordinate delay in making the layout ready for building houses has left thousands of allottees to continue living in rented homes. Many who borrowed home loans from banks have ended up paying steep rates of interest as banks have converted their home loans into commercial loans after BDA failed to complete the layout work within the deadline. A home loan comes with the condition that the borrower completes the construction of his house in two years. These allottees also lost out on income tax benefit under home loans.
Work on layout formation started 14 years ago, but pending works have dragged on for years. BDA has pledged to complete all works by Dec 2024, but seeing the pace of its work, it may go for another extension, some allottees said.
